Numerous devices have been previously proposed for cleaning phonograph records by vacuuming them. For example, Pat. No. 3,218,082 describes a vacuum powered attachment for a record player that includes an arm communicating with a suction fan contained in the record turntable. This approach, however, makes the record turntable bulky, heavy and expensive. A similar approach is taken in U.S. Pat. No. 3,031,195. Generally, the small size of the blower assembly suited for use in a turntable will cause the vacuum that is to be applied to the record to be relatively weak and ineffective.
Another problem encountered in the prior art is the inability to accurately and precisely position the vacuum head in close proximity to the surface of the record while at the same time permitting the vacuum head to be removed and replaced as often as necessary after each record is placed on the turntable while at the same time maintaining the precise position and height adjustment of the vacuum head above the record. Another problem is to find a way to control the amount of applied vacuum as the vacuum head is placed in position or removed so that the records are not accidentally lifted up by the suction head when the head is removed after the cleaning operation is completed. Thus, these approaches previously taken are expensive and unable to provide a powerful vacuum that will quickly and effectively clean a series of records. In addition to this, the device should be portable, adapted for use anywhere and suited for a variety of record players of either the manual or automatic type. It should be easy to operate and provision must be made for enabling the unit to be lifted and replaced repeatedly as each record is placed in succession on the turntable for cleaning.